The Fierce Teacher of Zhenguan: Starting with Teaching the Crown Prince to Make a Comeback

Chapter 80 Your Highness, you are wrong again!
Li Chengqian was taken aback, then smiled wryly.

"I have been repeatedly reprimanded by my father, criticized by court officials, and embroiled in numerous unsavory rumors among the people... What credibility do I have to speak of?"

His tone was tinged with self-deprecation and dejection.

"Your Highness, you are wrong again!"

Li Yichen said those words again, but this time, his eyes were no longer critical, but rather filled with a guiding excitement.

"What you see are superficial stains. What I see is the highest level of 'potential credit' within you, the highest level of credit of the Great Tang Empire!"

"Potential...credit?" Li Chengqian was completely dumbfounded.

“Exactly!” Li Yichen stood up and paced slowly in the hall, like a strategist pointing out the direction of the country.

"Your credit is based on the following points; please consider them carefully—"

"First, your status and credibility. You are the current Crown Prince, the legal heir apparent, and the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty! This status itself is the greatest endorsement of your credibility! As long as you are not deposed, the people of the world will have to acknowledge that you have the potential to inherit this vast country. This potential is the priceless foundation of your credibility! Even if they dislike you in their hearts, as long as you are still the Crown Prince, they must openly maintain the most basic respect for you and must also consider the possible consequences of offending the future emperor!"

Li Chengqian's heart skipped a beat.

He had never considered the identity of "Crown Prince" from this perspective.

"Secondly, political credibility. After the previous opening of the Eastern Palace, the response to the censors, and even the questioning at Xiande Hall, Your Highness has begun to establish a somewhat changed impression on the court officials, especially His Majesty. This impression is mixed, but most importantly—it has made you a variable that needs to be taken seriously again. This being taken seriously is the beginning of political credibility!"

Li Chengqian subconsciously touched his chest, feeling something burning there.

"Third, the project's credibility. The development of Xizhou is a national policy approved by His Majesty and closely watched by the court! It has legitimacy, urgency, and enormous potential benefits. Your deep involvement in this matter, and even your willingness to raise funds and supplies for it, demonstrates a willingness to take on responsibilities, which in itself adds to your credibility! People will think that you are betting your political life on this and have an extremely strong desire to succeed, which will increase their confidence in your ability to fulfill your promises!"

Li Chengqian seemed to have grasped something, but it was still vague.

"But... what's the use of just having this 'potential credit'? It can't be used as money!"

"Good question!" Li Yichen stopped and turned to look directly at Li Chengqian, his gaze sharp.

"Potential credit cannot be spent directly, but it can be turned into money and food! Like a piece of uncut jade, it is worthless in itself, but everyone knows its inherent value. As long as a skilled craftsman is found, it can be made to shine brightly and become priceless!"

He sat down again, leaning forward, and lowered his voice even further.

"The key to turning potential credit into real money lies in one word—anchor!"

"Anchor?" Li Chengqian's brows furrowed again; he had heard far too many new words today.

"Anchor of anchors? What does this have to do with money and grain?"

Li Chengqian's mind was starting to go a little slow.

"This anchor is not that anchor, but the principle is the same."

Li Yichen explained patiently.

"An anchor, sinking to the bottom of the water and gripping the silt and rocks, can hold a massive ship in place amidst the wind and waves, preventing it from drifting with the current. In the method of raising funds that I have described, the anchor refers to something that can stabilize credit, making it trustworthy, acceptable, and even enabling future lending... a fundamental element!"

Li Chengqian tried his best to understand.

"You mean... we need to find something as sturdy as an anchor to secure my potential credibility and convince others that I'm not just making empty promises?"

"Your Highness is wise; that is exactly what I meant!" Li Yichen nodded emphatically.

“This is what we call an anchor. With a sturdy and reliable anchor, your credit is no longer a castle in the air, but has a solid foundation. People will then be willing to lend you their current wealth to gamble for future profits.” Li Chengqian seemed thoughtful, but was still puzzled.

"Then... what is a reliable anchor? Land? A residence? Or the artifacts and treasures in my Eastern Palace?"

After saying that, he shook his head.

"Not to mention the controversy that selling off the Crown Prince's belongings would cause, even if they were all sold, I'm afraid we still wouldn't be able to raise 150,000 strings of cash."

"The things Your Highness has mentioned, such as land, houses, and treasures, are indeed common anchors."

Li Yichen continued to explain, “But they each have their limitations. Land and houses are difficult to move, and their value fluctuates. Treasures are valuable but not readily available, and difficult to liquidate quickly. Moreover, the value they can anchor is often limited to themselves. What I want to explain to Your Highness today is a more sophisticated way of anchoring wealth that can leverage far more than their own value.”

He paused to make sure Li Chengqian was listening attentively, and then began to delve deeper.

"To understand this, we need to start with some more general phenomena. Does Your Highness know why, in our Great Tang Dynasty, when the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin is widely circulated, the people are willing to exchange silk, grain, and labor for these small copper coins? They are even willing to put in hard work to accumulate these copper coins?"

Li Chengqian thought the problem was very simple.

"Because the imperial decree stipulates that this money can be used to pay taxes and to buy and sell goods. In addition, the coins themselves contain copper and therefore have value."

"Your Highness only got half of it right."

Li Yichen shook his head.

"Imperial decrees grant coins the power to be circulated, which is called 'power anchoring.' The copper content of coins represents their intrinsic material value, which can be called 'material anchoring.' But has Your Highness considered whether the actual value of the copper in a Kaiyuan Tongbao coin is truly equivalent to the value of a peck of rice or a foot of cloth that it can be exchanged for? Especially when the coins are worn out or the imperial court has not minted enough coins to be of high value?"

Li Chengqian was stunned.

As the crown prince, he lived a life of luxury and was not particularly sensitive to specific prices and the purity of currency, but Li Yichen's words reminded him that such a situation did indeed exist.

Sometimes money is expensive and goods are cheap, and sometimes money is cheap and goods are expensive.

"It seems...they are not always equal."

“Exactly!” Li Yichen affirmed.

"This shows that the value of a coin does not only come from the copper it contains, but also from the credit of the Tang Dynasty behind it! The people believed that with this coin, they could exchange it for goods of equivalent value in the future, and they also believed that the court would maintain the purchasing power of this coin. This belief is credit. And the authority of the court, the tax system, and even the enormous national power are the anchor of this credit! It anchors the intangible credit to the real court! Therefore, even if the copper content of the coin itself is slightly insufficient, as long as this anchor is strong enough, the coin can still circulate without hindrance."

Li Chengqian seemed to hear a door that had never been opened creaking, and he strained to look inside.

"So... the imperial court used the power of the state to anchor the credibility of currency?"

“Indeed. That’s one aspect.” Li Yichen continued to guide the discussion.

“Let’s think about it more deeply. As the Son of Heaven, His Majesty governs all people, and his words carry the law. His power is supreme. But has Your Highness ever considered where this supreme power is anchored?”

Li Chengqian thought about it for a longer time this time.

"Father... ascended the throne... by the mandate of Heaven, with the support of civil and military officials, sweeping away all rivals and ushering in the prosperous reign of Zhenguan..."

He spoke with some hesitation, because he thought of Xuanwu Gate, which did not seem to be entirely "ordained by fate".

Li Yichen noticed his hesitation and pointed it out directly.

(End of this chapter)